The Tuesday vote was almost unanimous with 344 MPs supporting
Pamfilova’s candidacy and only three voting against. There were
no abstentions.

Pamfilova was proposed for the ombudsman’s post by President
Vladimir Putin in mid-February in reply to a request by the
Presidential Council for Development of Civil Society and Human
Rights. Shortly afterwards the parliamentary majority party
United Russia and the center-left parliamentary party Fair Russia
supported the nomination and so did the Public Chamber of Russia.

Other people nominated for the post were Oleg Smolin of the
Communist Party and Yelena Afanasyeva of the Liberal Democratic
party but they failed to receive enough support at preliminary
voting and the lower house voted on a draft statement with just
one candidate.

Russia introduced the post of Human Rights ombudsman in 1993
together with the federal law regulating the official’s
responsibilities and interaction with government agencies and
society. According to this act, the ombudsman is appointed by the
lower house of parliament, but after this should not report or
follow orders of any state official or agency.

Pamfilova addressed the State Duma after the vote and thanked the
MPs for their trust and support. She also expressed gratitude to
her predecessor, Vladimir Lukin, for backing her candidacy before
the vote and for future help in assuming the post.

60-year old Ella Pamfilova is an experienced politician who
started her career during the Perestroika period as a member of
parliament and later as the Federal Minister for Social
Protection of Citizens. Between 2002 and 2004 she chaired the
presidential commission for Human Rights and promoted its
transition into the Presidential Council for Development of Civil
Society Institutes and Human Rights. She also heads the Civil
Dignity public movement that distributes presidential grants to
various rights and civil society projects.